Governor mechanism



-Aug. 9, 1949.

w. J. WlLLIAMS GOVERNOR MECHANISM 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Nov. 27, 1944INVENTOIIQ. v V/////'0m J kV/W/d/fl: f2 Z!!! 2 3% ATTORNEY w; J. WILLIAMS GOVERNOR MECHANISM Aug. 9, 1949.

s Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed NOV. 27, 1944 7 INVENTOR.

W/W/dm J WW/qms ATTORNEY /52 I BYfiM) 1949- w. J. WILLIAMS 2,478,797

' GOVERNOR MECHANISM Filed Nov. 27, 1944 s Sheets-Sheet s I E E IN V ENTOR.

Patented Aug. 9, 1949 UNITED STATES QFFICE GO ERN R Mt wem William J.Williams; Wilmette. 111. r i e e b 27, a seess sites This inventionrelates to a governor mechanism constructed so thatithe resultant actionproduces a substantially straight line' curve throughout the operatingspeed'range of the governor; hence with a given change in speed ofrotation of an element connected with the mechanism which is to beregulated, a corresponding substantially equal variation in movementoccurs in a control ling element which may be connected to therebyregulate the movement of the basic mechanism of m improved type ofgovernor.

An object of the present invention therefore is to provide in a governormechanism having a controlling element, inertia means adapted forvariable movement caused by the operation of centrifugal force and meansarranged for modifying the movement of said inertia means in such amanner that said means may beconnected :with the controllin element andwill move the latter in substantially the exact ratio of any variationsin speed of a member connected with or driven from the mechanism to begoverned.

Other objects include the simplification of parts; the compactarrangement of the elements; and in certain embodiments of my invention,of means to adjust the element actuated by the governor mechanism tovary the range .of effective operative movement of the actuated elementor the time of operation of the mechanism being controlled, or the like,a still further object being the simplified manner 'in which thisiadjust ment may be accomplished.

Further objects and advantages are within the scope of this inventionsuch as relate to the ar rangement, operation, and function of therelated elements of the structure, to various .details of constructionand to combinations of :parts, elements per se, and to economies ofmanufacture and numerous other features as will be apparent from aconsideration of the specification and drawings of a form of theinvention, which may be preferred, in which 7 Figure I is a vertical,sectional, elevational View of one embodiment of my invention shownconnected with a throttle or other co'ntrollinkage;

' Figure II is a similar view taken at right angles to'FigureI; V '1 IFigure HI is a sectional plan view taken on the line ,III-III of FigureI;

' Figure IV is a vertical, sectional view taken on the line IVIV ofFigure I; v r

Figure 1 an external elevational View of a modification of my inventionapplied as a switch 1 Claim. (01. zeta-=3) 2 operating governor to makeand-break circuits at set p r. V Figure VI is a vertical sectional viewof the embodiment er Fig-lire V'witli'the'parts atrest; And Figursvrrisa similar view showing the parts in position to actuatea switch or othermechanisms; f' FigureVIII is a diagrammatic view showing the operationwhile Figure IX is a diagram showing the'correlation of speedva'riationof themecha' nism'to be controlled'cornpared with the'm'ovee ment of thecontrol element of the governor;

Referring to Figure I, I have shown a governor housing' lfi made in'two' parts as illustrated, having'an upper part II, which, iii certainembodi ments'of my invention may be adjustable with respectto'the'bottom part III as will hereinafter be polnted' out; Within "thishousin In extends the drive shaft 12, the revolutions of which may varyas being'connected with some mechanism whose spedivaries", the contrblof which it is the object of my governing "mechanism to effect. Theshaft I2 ismounlze'd in a suitable bearing [3, the shaft 12 carrying'iwithin' the housing, the rotatable support 14 for the lg'overnorweights [5, the support l4 being pinned to the shaft l2 in theillustration. :These governor'weights l5 are pivoted as atpoint P to thesupport 14 so that under the centrifugal action .of the revolving ofshaft I2 these weights move outwardly and down wardly around the point Pas a center.

A freely movable sliding lplunger or control-,- ling element 18 isprovidedwith collars l9 and 19', while the Weights :15 have a contacttongue or cam 28 fitting between collars l9 and I9 and adapted to movethe plunger 13 longitudinally in line with theaxis of the shaft 12 ascam 20 of the weights moves upwardly-and downwardly as shown. It is :tobe noted that the weights ii are recessed at 2] to receive theco'llar49.

Each weight I5 is connected :to the control plunger 18 love. pair ofsprings 25, one end of each spring 25 being connected at point Ste theslide or control plunger 1.8 and the other end connected at the point'Wwith the weight ii, the spr n s being normally under te sion to retainthe narts in the position illustrated-in full lines in Figure; when thegovernor is at 1 In the embodiment of: Fi ures .1. to the controllingelem nt or plung r 1.8 is c nnected y a suitable anti-fric ion thrustearing 30 to a stem 31 thrcuehthe Musics I l connected toa crank 32 p vted at 331 9 the top oi-the hous ng shown.- 11 1c all crank 32 isintended to be connected with a thro t e son;-

trol link 34 for controlling the speed of any type of steam, internalcombustion, or other engine or mechanism. The bell crank 32 may also beconnected with a suitable member such as the member 34 for controllingthe speed of a dynamo electric machine interposing resistances,etcetera, as may be desired.

As shown in Figure VIII, weight I5 moves outwardly around the point P asa pivot as the speed of the shaft I2 increases with the result that thecam 20 moves the collar I9 and the control plunger I8 tangentially in avertical direction, assuming the governor to be located upright, asillustrated in Figure I. The spring 25, which has a modifying influenceon the action of the weights I5 being connected at one point S to thesliding control plunger I8, assumes various positions affecting thecycle of the movement of the weights I5, and hence the anchor of thecontrollin spring 25 is not fixed in relation to the point W where theother end of spring 25 is connected to the weight I5. It will be notedthat the point W and point S may be so chosen that the spring 25 isinclined to the horizontal when the parts are at rest as in Figur VIIIand that upon outward movement of the weights [5 due to the action ofcentrifugal force, the point W moves by increments equal to theco-tangent of the angle of the line PW with the vertical through thepoint P. In the meantime, it will be seen that the contact point C ofthe cam 20 has moved the collar I9 and control plunger IB by incrementsof equal amounts as illustrated in Figure III, upon various angularmovements of the point C around the pivot point P. Thus, the severalpositions taken by the point S of the spring 25 varysubstantiallyexactly in proportion to the several positions of the point C of the cam20. By the arrangement disclosed, I have provided a mechanism whichremains at initial position until after a certain increase in speed ofthe shaft I2 to a point where the centrifugal force will cause theweights I5 to move outwardly, and from then on I am able to provide asubstantially'straight line governor control of the movement of thecontrol plunger I8, in exact proportion to the increase or decrease inthe speed of rotation of the shaft i2. This is illustrated in Figure IX,where the base line 60 represents the speed of rotation of the shaft I2,and the vertical line 6I represents the movement of the control plungerI8. Plotting the R. P. M. of shaft I2 against the movement of theplunger, I have found I have obtained a straight line 62 over a largerange of R. P. M. for the shaft I2, and irrespective of the strength ofthe springs 25 employed.

By the arrangement disclosed, it will be seen that I vary thesingularity of the spring 25 on the weights I5; I vary the length of thesprings and hence the effect of the modifying forces thereof acting withor against the effect of the weights I5 in the cycle of their movementin effectin governor control.

After an initial period, and the governor begins operating at low speed,the weight retarding springs tend to give an upward force on the plungerdue to the placing of the pin in the plunger and the subsequentangularity. As the weights open slightly, due to increased speed andcentrifugal force, the plunger will rise to the point where the springsare exerting a directly opposed force without any upward or downwardcomponent. As the speed is still further increased, the weights movefarther out, and the plunger rises to the point where the plunger pin isabove the center of the pins in the weights. In this latter position, adownward force is exerted on the plunger to retard its movement, due tothe angularity of the position of the springs. This construction resultsin a practically straight line curve throughout the operating range ofthe governor.

In the embodiment of my invention, illustrated in Figures V, VI, andVII, I have shown the application of my improved governor mechanism asan overspeed governor for controlling electric circuits in any desiredsystem. In this case, the shaft I2 connected to be driven by anysuitable connection with the electrical or other mechanism to becontrolled is arranged in a bearing I3 in the housing III as in theother embodiment. Moreover, the corresponding parts described in theembodiment of Figures I through IV are the same in this embodiment ofFigures V through VII, the main difference being that the controllingelement or plunger I8 in the latter embodiment merely contacts the pin40 of an electric control switch 4|, mounted on the top of theadjustable part of the housing I I. It will thus be seen that when theplunger I8 reaches its upper position for any particular setting of theadjustable top portion II relative to the base III of the housing of thegovernor such as illustrated in Figure VII, the same operates the switchll by contact with the element 40 to break or make the circuit asstated.

Figure V illustrates an embodiment of my two-part housing I0 and II, inwhich the lower part I0 has an indicating index 50 vertically arrangedso that as the upper part is screwed upwardly and downwardly by reasonof the screw threaded connection 5I illustrated in this embodiment, thepin 40 is moved away from and toward the plunger I8. In view of the factthat in the mechanism I have constructed, the governor provides astraight line control, it will be seen that I can provide equalvariations in space of the indicie, 55 on the rotating top II, which canbe readily adjusted to change the time of action of the switch or othermechanism provided.

The operation of the governor mechanism, itself, in the embodiment ofFigures V to VII, is, of course, substantially the same as thatdescribed in the operation of the mechanism in connection with Figures Ito IV.

It is apparent that, within the scope of the invention, modificationsand different arrangements may be made other than is herein disclosed,and the present disclosure is illustrative merely, the inventioncomprehending all variations thereof.

What I claim is:

A governor mechanism including a governor housing; a vertically arrangedrotatable shaft extending into said housing; a rotatable member carriedby said shaft forming a rotatable support; a plurality of weightspivotally connected at their lower portions to said support and arrangedto rotate with said member, said weights adapted to move in an arcaround said pivots under the action of centrifugal force; a controllingmember adapted to be vertically moved in one direction by said weights;and a tension spring connected to each of said weights and to saidmovable controlling member one end of the spring being connected to theweight and the other end connected to said controlling member at a,point below the horizontal plane passing through the connecting point ofsaid spring to said weight in inoperative position,

whereby the spring acts in conjunction with the ffi g weights on saidcontrolling member during part 1 337865 of the movement of said weightsand against 5 2 101447 said weights during other parts of such move-UNITED STATES PATENTS Name Date Lamont Sept. 10, 1872 Wells Apr. 20,1920 Oldham Dec. 7, 1937 Antonsen Feb. 15, 1938 Hoof Dec. 30, 1941FOREIGN PATENTS Country Date Germany Oct. 29, 1930 France Sept. 2, 1924

